16 January 2026

Flying over St. Pete

I had just come back home from office meetings for a couple of days in St. Pete. And immediately turned around to go on a vacation with Sharmila. And what do you know? We flew right over St. Pete. I can see the pink Vinoy hotel where we stayed in!!

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16 January 2026

Flying over Clearwater

The year was 2021. The month was February. The world was still under the spell of Covid virus. I was dealing with the news of my mom’s death. I did not know then but a couple of weeks later, my dad would pass away too. Due to the virus, we were all cooped up without any ability to travel.

Moment I got my first vaccination, I hit the road. I needed to get out somewhere and decompress. Deal with my mom’s news and the constant feeling of getting stuck in a place. It was me and my friend Avi.

If you notice the break in the beach where the water goes in, and then follow to the first multi-storey building a bit to the right – that is the Sheraton I had escaped to.

That was my first trip after Covid!

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8 January 2026

Yerba Mate!

At times, I had seen people drinking from a coffee cup but with a straw! The straw was made of metal and shaped more like a pipe. It looked more like a pipe-meet-coffee cup!

Found out in Uruguay – where lot of people were doing it – that is used to drink Yerba Mete – sort of like herbal tea except, caffeinated!

Got a few varieties of the Mate and two of those cups. Now, I need some excuse to drink it!!

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